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Comment by bendbro | Hacker News Reader

> ever publicly changing your mind about any topic

That's pure gloss. It isn't simply "changing your mind," it's changing the social and economic reality of 330,000,000 people. If you fuck up that messaging (science is absolute!) or fuck up plans (flatten the curve! -> eradicate covid! -> lol nvm its endemic now) you and all who support you deserve criticism.

Echoing my point on messaging, the director of the CDC says: “I have frequently said ‘we’re going to lead with the science’…I think public heard that as ‘science is foolproof. Science is black and white. Science is immediate and we get the answer and then we make the decision based on the answer'... and the truth is science is gray".

https://mobile.twitter.com/AlexThomp/status/1499810656056397...

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The point stands: It's a failure of an education system that leaves its citizens with no conception of what science is, or how 'progress' is made.

Also, it's hard to make the case that communication, plans, and COVID going endemic are the CDC's fault, when simultaneously the president's communicated "plan" is 'it'll just disappear' or 'just drink bleach'.

> The point stands: It's a failure of an education system that leaves its citizens with no conception of what science is, or how 'progress' is made.

Agree. Also not related to my previous comment. See the parent of my previous comment for context.

> Also, it's hard to make the case that [1, 2, 3] are the CDC's fault

1. > communication

It is easy to make this case, when the director of the CDC makes it for me.

See my previous comment, and note that the video regards things that the director of the CDC feels they "could have improved."

https://mobile.twitter.com/AlexThomp/status/1499810656056397...

2. > plans

Also easy to make this case, when the director of the CDC also makes it for me.

See the parent comment again.

3. > COVID going endemic

I'm not claiming this is the CDC's fault.

> when simultaneously the president's communicated "plan" is 'it'll just disappear' or 'just drink bleach'

Yes, the CDC's plan differed from the President's plan. Does that fact have any bearing on whether we can criticize the CDC's communication and plan? Cannot both warrant criticism?

You complain that the CDC should have had better communication when it's not their job to re-educate a whole population in 2 weeks about what science is, which is clearly a failure of the education system. Whatever mea culpa that CDC person is going through in that particular interview does not change the facts.

You complain about the CDC to fuck up plans (flatten the curve! -> eradicate covid! -> lol nvm its endemic now)", when that was outside of their power, being sabotaged by that mass murderer clown in the white house.

You are not complaining about what their plan was, just about how it failed, which is clearly outside of what they can affect.

Try to stick to one opinion.

If you want some information about things to criticize about what their plan was, Michael Lewis' 'The Premonition' is a whole book about that shit show. Their biggest problem was that they were not an agency built to actually fight a pandemic, but tried to study it first. However, none of these bad plans even matter when the executive has other ideas.

> Whatever mea culpa that CDC person is going through in that particular interview does not change the facts

> that CDC person

What's with the minimizing language? That "CDC person" is the director of the CDC.

Is there a reason we should listen to the CDC when they prescribe large social and economic changes but not when they critique themselves?

> You are not complaining about what their plan was, just about how it failed, which is clearly outside of what they can affect

I intended to critique the plan itself, not the execution of the plan. That's my fault.

> Try to stick to one opinion

No you're a towel!

> If you want some information about things to criticize...

Will dig into, thanks.

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